# Helping with Ruby, where to start? **URL:** \ **Category:** ruby-talk\ **Created:** [12 October 2010 04:31 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405 "2010-10-12T04:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dev\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@Dev\_Guy](https://rubytalk.org/u/Dev_Guy)\ **Post date:** [12 October 2010 04:31 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/1 "2010-10-12T04:31:47Z")
How does one start to help the Ruby community? I figure the best way to learn and build better Ruby skills is start by fixing bugs or help with testing. I keep telling myself I know Ruby =P I mean I've been coding in C++ for over 10 years. Yet Ruby style is different, so it's not about learning to program but learning more about Ruby that I would like to improve upon. More to the point I would like to give back, while also making Ruby, my tool of choice much better in the process. So where can I start? > **···** > > -- > Kind Regards, > Rajinder Yadav ---
**Author:** ![Jeremy\_Bopp](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/rubytalk.org/jeremy_bopp/32/1937_2.png) [@Jeremy\_Bopp](https://rubytalk.org/u/Jeremy_Bopp)\ **Post date:** [12 October 2010 14:01 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/2 "2010-10-12T14:01:49Z")
I'm sure there are many ways to start helping, but for me I found a task I needed to code, picked up a Ruby interpreter, and started working. Along the way I published a couple gems, contributed to a third, and filed a defect or two against some other gems and Ruby itself. Now that I have a fair bit of experience, I also try to help out here by answering questions when able. I can only hope that my contributions have been helpful to others. Take a look here if you want to start working on Ruby itself: [http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/](http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/) Creating and improving gems are also immensely helpful activities. -Jeremy > **···** > > On 10/11/2010 11:31 PM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > How does one start to help the Ruby community? I figure the best way to > > learn and build better Ruby skills is start by fixing bugs or help with > > testing. > > > > I keep telling myself I know Ruby =P I mean I've been coding in C++ for > > over 10 years. Yet Ruby style is different, so it's not about learning > > to program but learning more about Ruby that I would like to improve upon. > > > > More to the point I would like to give back, while also making Ruby, my > > tool of choice much better in the process. > > > > So where can I start? ---
**Author:** ![Dev\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@Dev\_Guy](https://rubytalk.org/u/Dev_Guy)\ **Post date:** [13 October 2010 08:53 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/3 "2010-10-13T08:53:00Z")
Hi Jeremy, I discovered the ruby-core website, instruction on there is lacking. What does one do after they check out the code? If someone wants to start small and work their way up what is the process? I would like to help with Ruby 2.0, with testing and improving the doc, and eventually move on to fix bugs. I started to help with RailsGuides doc, and made a contribution to updating documentation for a gem. Thanks > **···** > > On 10-10-12 10:01 AM, Jeremy Bopp wrote: > > > On 10/11/2010 11:31 PM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > > > How does one start to help the Ruby community? I figure the best way to > > > learn and build better Ruby skills is start by fixing bugs or help with > > > testing. > > > > > > I keep telling myself I know Ruby =P I mean I've been coding in C++ for > > > over 10 years. Yet Ruby style is different, so it's not about learning > > > to program but learning more about Ruby that I would like to improve upon. > > > > > > More to the point I would like to give back, while also making Ruby, my > > > tool of choice much better in the process. > > > > > > So where can I start? > > > > I'm sure there are many ways to start helping, but for me I found a task > > I needed to code, picked up a Ruby interpreter, and started working. > > Along the way I published a couple gems, contributed to a third, and > > filed a defect or two against some other gems and Ruby itself. Now that > > I have a fair bit of experience, I also try to help out here by > > answering questions when able. I can only hope that my contributions > > have been helpful to others. > > > > Take a look here if you want to start working on Ruby itself: > > > > [Ruby Core](http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/) > > > > Creating and improving gems are also immensely helpful activities. > > > > -Jeremy > > -- > Kind Regards, > Rajinder Yadav ---
**Author:** ![Jeremy\_Bopp](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/rubytalk.org/jeremy_bopp/32/1937_2.png) [@Jeremy\_Bopp](https://rubytalk.org/u/Jeremy_Bopp)\ **Post date:** [13 October 2010 16:29 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/4 "2010-10-13T16:29:26Z")
> I discovered the ruby-core website, instruction on there is lacking. > What does one do after they check out the code? You should build the code and install the binaries so that you can start using that version of Ruby. > If someone wants to start small and work their way up what is the > process? I would like to help with Ruby 2.0, with testing and improving > the doc, and eventually move on to fix bugs. I don't know for certain what the official processes is, assuming there is much of one at all. The best I can do is point back into the link I sent earlier: [http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/#patching-ruby](http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/#patching-ruby) That specific section details how to go about submitting patches and bug reports. There are other links in that section containing information on how to make a patch that will be considered. If you just want to start fixing things, look for open issues in the defect tracker and make patches to correct the issues you find. You'll find documentation (or items that need documentation) along with the code within the Ruby sources. If you find a defect that you don't know how to fix yourself, open a new issue in the defect tracker and provide all the details you can in order to describe the defect. -Jeremy > **···** > > On 10/13/2010 3:53 AM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: ---
**Author:** ![Dev\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@Dev\_Guy](https://rubytalk.org/u/Dev_Guy)\ **Post date:** [13 October 2010 20:29 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/5 "2010-10-13T20:29:10Z")
Hi Jeremy, thanks for your assistance. I got the source off the trunk and built Ruby, I guess I'll start off by getting familiar with the source code and layout of the project. I did a quick browse of the bug database and have a better idea where to look. I guess my first step is to read the README and compile a C module I can call from Ruby to get use to the build tool. I don't have a Linux background, but at home I use it exclusively from Ruby and Rails. I'll push myself to find a easy bug to reproduce and fix just to get use to the process of going through the motions. > **···** > > On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 12:29 PM, Jeremy Bopp \ wrote: > > > On 10/13/2010 3:53 AM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > > > I discovered the ruby-core website, instruction on there is lacking. > > > What does one do after they check out the code? > > > > You should build the code and install the binaries so that you can start > > using that version of Ruby. > > > > > If someone wants to start small and work their way up what is the > > > process? I would like to help with Ruby 2.0, with testing and improving > > > the doc, and eventually move on to fix bugs. > > > > I don't know for certain what the official processes is, assuming there > > is much of one at all. The best I can do is point back into the link I > > sent earlier: > > > > [Ruby Core](http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/#patching-ruby) > > > > That specific section details how to go about submitting patches and bug > > reports. There are other links in that section containing information > > on how to make a patch that will be considered. > > > > If you just want to start fixing things, look for open issues in the > > defect tracker and make patches to correct the issues you find. You'll > > find documentation (or items that need documentation) along with the > > code within the Ruby sources. If you find a defect that you don't know > > how to fix yourself, open a new issue in the defect tracker and provide > > all the details you can in order to describe the defect. > > > > -Jeremy > > -- > Kind Regards, > Rajinder Yadav ---
**Author:** ![Chuck\_Remes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@Chuck\_Remes](https://rubytalk.org/u/Chuck_Remes)\ **Post date:** [13 October 2010 20:41 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/6 "2010-10-13T20:41:40Z")
There is no need to limit yourself to working \*only\* on MRI Ruby (MRI = Matz's Ruby Interpreter). There are at least two other major Ruby runtimes that could use the time and talents of interested programmers. Plus, their code is a little more approachable than MRI's code base. JRuby > **[GitHub - jruby/jruby: JRuby, an implementation of Ruby on the JVM](https://github.com/jruby/jruby)** > > JRuby, an implementation of Ruby on the JVM. Contribute to jruby/jruby development by creating an account on GitHub. Rubinius [http://github.com/evanphx/rubinius](http://github.com/evanphx/rubinius) JRuby is written primarily in Java but it has quite a bit of pure Ruby too. Rubinius is written primarily in Ruby with a small C++ VM and a JIT using LLVM. cr > **···** > > On Oct 13, 2010, at 3:29 PM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 12:29 PM, Jeremy Bopp \ wrote: > > > > > On 10/13/2010 3:53 AM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > > > > > I discovered the ruby-core website, instruction on there is lacking. > > > > What does one do after they check out the code? > > > > > > You should build the code and install the binaries so that you can start > > > using that version of Ruby. > > > > > > > If someone wants to start small and work their way up what is the > > > > process? I would like to help with Ruby 2.0, with testing and improving > > > > the doc, and eventually move on to fix bugs. > > > > > > I don't know for certain what the official processes is, assuming there > > > is much of one at all. The best I can do is point back into the link I > > > sent earlier: > > > > > > [Ruby Core](http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/#patching-ruby) > > > > > > That specific section details how to go about submitting patches and bug > > > reports. There are other links in that section containing information > > > on how to make a patch that will be considered. > > > > > > If you just want to start fixing things, look for open issues in the > > > defect tracker and make patches to correct the issues you find. You'll > > > find documentation (or items that need documentation) along with the > > > code within the Ruby sources. If you find a defect that you don't know > > > how to fix yourself, open a new issue in the defect tracker and provide > > > all the details you can in order to describe the defect. > > > > > > -Jeremy > > > > Hi Jeremy, > > > > thanks for your assistance. I got the source off the trunk and built > > Ruby, I guess I'll start off by getting familiar with the source code > > and layout of the project. I did a quick browse of the bug database > > and have a better idea where to look. > > > > I guess my first step is to read the README and compile a C module I > > can call from Ruby to get use to the build tool. I don't have a Linux > > background, but at home I use it exclusively from Ruby and Rails. > > > > I'll push myself to find a easy bug to reproduce and fix just to get > > use to the process of going through the motions. ---
**Author:** ![Jeremy\_Bopp](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/rubytalk.org/jeremy_bopp/32/1937_2.png) [@Jeremy\_Bopp](https://rubytalk.org/u/Jeremy_Bopp)\ **Post date:** [13 October 2010 20:41 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/7 "2010-10-13T20:41:47Z")
> thanks for your assistance. I got the source off the trunk and built > Ruby, I guess I'll start off by getting familiar with the source code > and layout of the project. I did a quick browse of the bug database > and have a better idea where to look. No problem. This is how you get started with pretty much any open source project. > I guess my first step is to read the README and compile a C module I > can call from Ruby to get use to the build tool. I don't have a Linux > background, but at home I use it exclusively from Ruby and Rails. Compiling a C module is not a bad idea, but there should be great deal to do within the Ruby interpreter itself. Since you say you don't have a Linux background, is it safe to assume you primarily use Windows? If so, you could help the RubyInstaller project: > **[RubyInstaller for Windows](https://rubyinstaller.org/)** > > The easy way to install Ruby on Windows This is a self-contained Windows-based installer that includes the Ruby language, an execution environment, important... There is a big Contribute link on the upper right of that page with great details for helping out the project that makes it easy to install Ruby on Windows. There are also defects in the Ruby interpreter that primarily affect Windows builds, so you could focus on those as well. > I'll push myself to find a easy bug to reproduce and fix just to get > use to the process of going through the motions. That's the best way. Find an itch and scratch it. 😉 -Jeremy > **···** > > On 10/13/2010 3:29 PM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: ---
**Author:** ![Charles\_Roper1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Charles\_Roper1](https://rubytalk.org/u/Charles_Roper1)\ **Post date:** [14 October 2010 18:50 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/8 "2010-10-14T18:50:12Z")
Yeah, that's a good point - Luis has recently written a post containing a plea for help: [http://blog.mmediasys.com/2010/09/23/rubyinstaller-what-where-when-1/](http://blog.mmediasys.com/2010/09/23/rubyinstaller-what-where-when-1/) Charles > **···** > > On 13 October 2010 21:41, Jeremy Bopp \ wrote: > > > Since you say you don't have > > a Linux background, is it safe to assume you primarily use Windows? If > > so, you could help the RubyInstaller project: > > > > [http://www.rubyinstaller.org/](http://www.rubyinstaller.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Dev\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@Dev\_Guy](https://rubytalk.org/u/Dev_Guy)\ **Post date:** [16 October 2010 02:04 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/9 "2010-10-16T02:04:37Z")
Yes I am a Windows developer, but at home I am exclusively using Linux, started doing this a year ago just to get better with Linux and than I discovered Ruby and Rails and I was hooked =) So I'm more interested in helping out an open source project running on Linux in the RoR community. I'm thinking I might find a gem project that I find useful where I could lend a hand, a project that's not sexy and in need of extra help or maintainers. I guess my first step would be to write a simple "hello world" gem plugin myself, understand the process. However I also just need to develop a habit of doing something I don't know how to do, rather than spending my time preparing! > **···** > > On 10-10-13 04:41 PM, Jeremy Bopp wrote: > > > On 10/13/2010 3:29 PM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > > > thanks for your assistance. I got the source off the trunk and built > > > Ruby, I guess I'll start off by getting familiar with the source code > > > and layout of the project. I did a quick browse of the bug database > > > and have a better idea where to look. > > > > No problem. This is how you get started with pretty much any open > > source project. > > > > > I guess my first step is to read the README and compile a C module I > > > can call from Ruby to get use to the build tool. I don't have a Linux > > > background, but at home I use it exclusively from Ruby and Rails. > > > > Compiling a C module is not a bad idea, but there should be great deal > > to do within the Ruby interpreter itself. Since you say you don't have > > a Linux background, is it safe to assume you primarily use Windows? If > > so, you could help the RubyInstaller project: > > > > [http://www.rubyinstaller.org/](http://www.rubyinstaller.org/) > > > > There is a big Contribute link on the upper right of that page with > > great details for helping out the project that makes it easy to install > > Ruby on Windows. > > > > There are also defects in the Ruby interpreter that primarily affect > > Windows builds, so you could focus on those as well. > > > > > I'll push myself to find a easy bug to reproduce and fix just to get > > > use to the process of going through the motions. > > > > That's the best way. Find an itch and scratch it. 😉 > > > > -Jeremy > > -- > Kind Regards, > Rajinder Yadav ---
**Author:** ![Dev\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@Dev\_Guy](https://rubytalk.org/u/Dev_Guy)\ **Post date:** [16 October 2010 02:10 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/helping-with-ruby-where-to-start/60405/10 "2010-10-16T02:10:38Z")
The Rubinius project sounds like something interesting to work on, but I'm not a fan of Java being a C++ guy =P I'll take look at Rubinius. > **···** > > On 10-10-13 04:41 PM, Chuck Remes wrote: > > > On Oct 13, 2010, at 3:29 PM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > > > On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 12:29 PM, Jeremy Bopp\ wrote: > > > > > > > On 10/13/2010 3:53 AM, Rajinder Yadav wrote: > > > > > > > > > I discovered the ruby-core website, instruction on there is lacking. > > > > > What does one do after they check out the code? > > > > > > > > You should build the code and install the binaries so that you can start > > > > using that version of Ruby. > > > > > > > > > If someone wants to start small and work their way up what is the > > > > > process? I would like to help with Ruby 2.0, with testing and improving > > > > > the doc, and eventually move on to fix bugs. > > > > > > > > I don't know for certain what the official processes is, assuming there > > > > is much of one at all. The best I can do is point back into the link I > > > > sent earlier: > > > > > > > > [Ruby Core](http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/community/ruby-core/#patching-ruby) > > > > > > > > That specific section details how to go about submitting patches and bug > > > > reports. There are other links in that section containing information > > > > on how to make a patch that will be considered. > > > > > > > > If you just want to start fixing things, look for open issues in the > > > > defect tracker and make patches to correct the issues you find. You'll > > > > find documentation (or items that need documentation) along with the > > > > code within the Ruby sources. If you find a defect that you don't know > > > > how to fix yourself, open a new issue in the defect tracker and provide > > > > all the details you can in order to describe the defect. > > > > > > > > -Jeremy > > > > > > Hi Jeremy, > > > > > > thanks for your assistance. I got the source off the trunk and built > > > Ruby, I guess I'll start off by getting familiar with the source code > > > and layout of the project. I did a quick browse of the bug database > > > and have a better idea where to look. > > > > > > I guess my first step is to read the README and compile a C module I > > > can call from Ruby to get use to the build tool. I don't have a Linux > > > background, but at home I use it exclusively from Ruby and Rails. > > > > > > I'll push myself to find a easy bug to reproduce and fix just to get > > > use to the process of going through the motions. > > > > There is no need to limit yourself to working \*only\* on MRI Ruby (MRI = Matz's Ruby Interpreter). > > > > There are at least two other major Ruby runtimes that could use the time and talents of interested programmers. Plus, their code is a little more approachable than MRI's code base. > > > > JRuby > > [GitHub - jruby/jruby: JRuby, an implementation of Ruby on the JVM](http://github.com/jruby/jruby) > > > > Rubinius > > [http://github.com/evanphx/rubinius](http://github.com/evanphx/rubinius) > > > > JRuby is written primarily in Java but it has quite a bit of pure Ruby too. > > > > Rubinius is written primarily in Ruby with a small C++ VM and a JIT using LLVM. > > > > cr > > -- > Kind Regards, > Rajinder Yadav